Golf preview: Auth, Ginley are friendly foes

WARWICK — Russ Auth worries about one score when he's on the golf course.

Sal Interdonato

WARWICK — Russ Auth worries about one score when he's on the golf course.

Auth is always keeping an eye on how Sean Ginley is hitting the ball. The Warwick seniors play so many times together that it's become a friendly competition.

"I'm not worried about the Section 9 tournament this year," Auth said. "I just want to shoot lower than him."

Auth and Ginley are thinking or playing golf every chance they can get. They both spent the winter working on their games with personal coach Lee Ferrec. When Warwick Valley Country Club was still closed due to winter weather, they practiced at a heated driving range in Tappan.

Ginley and Auth weren't happy when they found out Warwick's golf opener would be postponed by a day. The Wildcats' season begins Wednesday, the first day that the greens at Warwick Valley Country Club will be ready. Ginley and Auth are anxious to start their senior season. Both are driven for different reasons.

Ginley wants to improve his scores at the state tournament. He shot two rounds of 94 and finished tied for 91st as a junior.

"I've definitely worked a lot on my mental approach," Ginley said. "That's my main motivation from how last season ended. I think I am ready to go."

Auth just wants to play at the state tournament. He missed claiming the ninth and final state berth on the third playoff hole at the Section 9 tournament last season.

"It was a tough one to take," Auth said. "It's motivated me a lot to work more on my game."

Auth will continue to improve his game over spring break. He will play Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Charleston, S.C., and courses at Barefoot Resort & Golf in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., where he is a member, during the week of April 14-20. Auth also recently became a member at The Golf Club at Mansion Ridge in Monroe, site of the Section 9 tournament's first round on May 19.

"I'm definitely going to place in the top five in the section this year," Auth said. "I'm going to play at Mansion Ridge a lot."

Auth and Ginley could be playing many rounds together after high school. Auth is attending Horry Georgetown Technical School in Conway, S.C., just outside Myrtle Beach. Ginley is enrolling in the PGA Golf Management Program at Coastal Carolina in Conway.

"We'll definitely be playing a lot down there," Ginley said. "We're both very competitive. That's how we've gotten better."